A new case appears on the ECJ website. It appears to be an infraction case and, since France is being infracted, it is perhaps fitting that the case is only available in French. The IPKat's rudimentary French causes him to believe that France is being rapped over the knuckles for failing to communicate a list of Community design courts to the Commission. The ECJ concludes:
1) En l’absence de communication des tribunaux des dessins ou modèles communautaires à la Commission des Communautés européennes, la République française à manqué aux obligations qui lui incombent en vertu de l’article 80, paragraphe 2, du règlement (CE) nº 6/2002 du Conseil, du 12 décembre 2001, sur les dessins ou modèles communautaires.
2) La République française est condamnée aux dépens.
The IPKat would appreciate the assistance of any reader with a better grasp of French than his own.
French court in the act?
![French court in the act?]()
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Tuesday, June 03, 2008
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The Kat is correct. France missed the 6 March 2005 deadline for submitting a list of courts to deal with community designs.
ReplyDeleteThe EC therefore wrote to the French government on 19 October 2006 to ask it comply within 2 months.
The French government responded on 22 December 2006, stating that it had submitted a proposal for adaptation of its law on 9 November 2006.
The EC considered that these measures were insufficient and, because France had not submitted its list, it filed this appeal.
In its defence, France claimed that it had taken the necessary legislative measures to enact the relevant regulation but effectively admitted that it had not adopted the law which would determine the relevant courts.
The ECJ therefore concluded that France had failed to meet its obligations and awarded costs against it.
A bit of a French dressing down?
You are right, France has failed to communicate the list of courts designated to judge community designs issues.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the law reform passed last october provided for the appointment of these courts by decree.
The decree is still not ready though, hence this decision.
A good summary of October law reform (in English):
http://www.ds-avocats.com/dsfr/IMG/pdf/Lettre_IPIT_ENG_MARS_2008.pdf
Not much more it it than that. The French Government's excuse is that the procedure for passing the secondary legislation designating the tribunals is not yet complete.
ReplyDeleteI would even sigh, and say "As usual". The current French government seems to have made quite a trend of passing laws and then leaving a huge backlog of decrees to be issued, so it is not really any surprise that it has once again been fined for its untimeliness. On the surface things are moving, and underneath, just the usual slow (or even slower) trawl of bureaucracy...that's what comes of putting all of your aging technocrat civil servants into early retirement and not rehiring !!
ReplyDeleteThe list of community design courts might not be made available before september, according to (indirect) information on the pace of the "Guinchard commision"'s work in this regard.
ReplyDeletePlease ignore my previous comment.
ReplyDeleteA decree published on 4 June 2008 (yes, one day after the ECJ decision!) designates the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris as France's Community Designs court.